


something from nothing

by reptileetea



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Pepper Potts, Character Death Fix, F/M, Fix-It, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Pepperony - Freeform, Protective Pepper Potts, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24538171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reptileetea/pseuds/reptileetea
Summary: His eyebrows bounced and he pulled his fingers away like he had burnt himself, before placing them back where they had been to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. Sure enough, a sluggish thump beneath his fingers greeted him. He swallowed and felt his eyes well up with tears once more. That stubborn bastard didn’t know when to give up.“Pepper?”Pepper’s eyes hadn’t left Tony’s face.“Hm?” She hummed in response, not even bothering to look at Steve.“Tony’s alive. He- He’s still got a pulse.”—-but what if tony survived? endgame fix-it.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	something from nothing

Pepper knew it was bound to happen eventually. She imagined the scenario every night, long after Tony had fallen asleep beside her and his incessant rambling about circuits and diodes had transitioned into soft snoring. She’d see herself doing something completely mundane while waiting for Tony to return from a mission, like cleaning up Morgan’s spilled juice pop or checking her email and there’d be a knock at the door. She’d open it to see some S.H.I.E.L.D agent she didn’t recognize and they’d say something like “there’s been an accident” and explain that Tony, that goddamn idiot had pulled another self-sacrificial stunt and ended up getting himself killed. And then Pepper would fold in on herself and let out body-wracking sobs and that person she didn’t even know, that stranger, would put their hand on her shoulder, but she’d be too heartbroken to even be astonished by the fact that a battle-hardened S.H.I.E.L.D agent was actually capable of showing sympathy. 

Pepper just hoped that didn’t happen anytime soon.

—-

“Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark, we won.” 

Pepper watched with shimmering eyes as Peter Parker tried to no avail to get Tony’s attention. Her husband stared at Peter, but he didn’t see. His once lively brown eyes were glassy and so painfully devoid of light.

“We won. You did it, sir.”

Peter had started to tremble when Pepper put her hands on his shoulders. More than anything, she wanted to cry. She wanted to take Tony’s limp hand and rest her head on his chest and cry for all of those years they had together. Those wonderful years that she only realized now she had taken for granted. But she didn’t. She had to remain strong for this kid, this kid who was only 16 and already fighting for a bunch of people he barely knew just because it was the right thing to do. This kid who was just as much of her husband’s own child as Morgan was.

God, Morgan. How do you tell a five year old that her father died saving the universe? The parenting books never explained that.

“Tony.” Pepper’s own voice surprised her. 

“Tony, look at me.” She placed a gentle hand on his armored chest, obscuring the dimming blue glow of the arc reactor. Tony turned his head slowly, smiling sadly as he made eye contact with his wife. 

Pepper swallowed bile.

The only thing left of the right side of Tony’s face were a few flaps of charred flesh, dangling from the red exposed muscle. 

Rhodey gasped beside her and tightened his grip on his best friend’s hand. A small sob came from Peter.

“We’re gonna be okay.” Pepper barely managed to get that past the lump in her throat. Tony tried to smile again, which resulted only in what was left of his face contorting in pain. 

A single tear slid down Pepper’s cheek, leaving a streak on her ashy face.

Everything came at her at once. Those years of panic attacks. Tony waking up gasping in the middle of the night, chest heaving and dark eyes glistening with unshed tears. Tony locking himself in his workshop for days on end. Tony refusing to leave the house because he was afraid he’d have a panic attack in public.

It all lead up to this. Thanos was at the center of it all. Tony deserved so much better.

“You can rest now.” Pepper choked out. Tony inhaled shakily, and Pepper realized that was the last time she’d see his eyes. Those dark, chocolatey eyes bursting at the seams with intelligence and contagious personality. 

And then he was gone. 

It took the trio a moment to realize that he was actually gone until the arc reactor flickered once, twice, and then shrank into darkness. Pepper heaved out a sob and pressed her lips to Tony’s cold cheek. Rhodey bowed his head solemnly, and placed a hesitant hand on Pepper’s shoulder. Peter attempted to stand up on shaky legs and stumbled backwards instead, falling back to the ground. His vision was blurred with hot tears as he scrubbed his face with his hands. He flinched as a large hand grabbed his arm and hoisted him back to his feet. Peter glanced up to see Steve Rogers’ face, bright red and tear-streaked.

He never thought he’d see Captain America cry. 

The teenager watched as Steve slowly made his way over to Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey. He knelt beside Pepper and hesitantly took her hand in his own. She looked up at him, her expression indecipherable for a moment until her face softened. Steve gestured towards Tony, who’s eyes had since been shut by Rhodey. “May I?” His voice was gentle and just barely a whisper. At first Pepper didn’t say anything. She just stared at the other Avenger, thought about her husband’s relationship with him. Their fight in Germany. Steve leaving Tony in Siberia. She wanted so badly to slap his hand away, to stand up and push him over and yell every obscenity she knew in that perfect face of his.

But she didn’t. Because she knew that Steve cared for Tony. She saw the way he had rushed to help Tony when he had returned from space five years ago. She saw how the captain would sit by Tony’s bed in the infirmary into the wee hours of the morning, glancing up from his sketchpad with exhausted eyes every time his friend stirred.

So she nodded and squeezed his hand. 

“Go ahead.”

A corner of Steve’s lips twitched up in thanks. He leaned forward, and placed two gentle fingers on Tony’s neck. He’d done that since the war. Every time a fellow soldier fell, Steve tried his best to find the time to make sure they were actually gone. 

That was the curse of being an optimist. No matter how dire the situation, that little flicker of hope still burned within him. And it usually resulted in him being let down.

But not this time. His eyebrows bounced and he pulled his fingers away like he had burnt himself, before placing them back where they had been to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. Sure enough, a sluggish thump beneath his fingers greeted him. He swallowed and felt his eyes well up with tears once more. That stubborn bastard didn’t know when to give up.

“Pepper?”

Pepper’s eyes hadn’t left Tony’s face.

“Hm?” She hummed in response, not even bothering to look at Steve.

“Tony’s alive. He- He’s still got a pulse.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i May continue depending on the attention this gets. kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated!


End file.
